A less government conservative Republican from Livingston County, MI
Opinions on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Livingston County Republican Party.
Chairman of LCRP since January 2013

Sunday, October 30, 2005

An email from State Party prints part of a MIRSNEWS report that confirms what most have been speculating.

Anuzis Confirms Bouchard BidState GOP chair Saul ANUZIS confirms an earlier MIRS report that Oakland County Sheriff Mike BOUCHARD will get into the GOP U.S. Senate primary next week joining two other hopefuls.

He said he had conversations with Bouchard this week about his candidacy. The chair came away from those talks with the impression Bouchard would jump in. The sheriff has been busy lining up financial support and had a private dinner with a key supporter on Thursday night. All the signals from his fund raising efforts appear to be positive according to Anuzis.

Bouchard will join the Rev. Keith BUTLER and west Michigan candidate Jerry ZANDSTRA in the three-person race.

Bouchard dropped out of the contest for undisclosed medical reasons earlier this year, but if all the legal hurdles can be overcome, he will issue a statement from his physician giving him a clean bill of health for the contest.

Another party source says the Bouchard announcement could come “early next week.”

Could Bouchard win? In his favor have been easy wins in Oakland County as sheriff and state senator. The 361,092 votes were more than John Kerry (who won Oakland) received.

His last State Senatorial race was in 1998 in what was then the 13th district. He defeated Jeffrey Jenks 57,752 to 29,411 in a district which also went for Spence Abraham, Al Gore, and John Kerry. It's more democrat today than it was then. Part of that was due to Bouchard's pull. Part of that was due to Geoffrey Fieger leading the ticket for the democrats, and John Engler leading the ticket for the GOP. Part of that was most likely a weak opponent for Bouchard. Ferndale is not supposed to be close.

The district has been redistricted since 98. The most democrat areas (Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Hazel Park) are now in the Gilda Jacobs district, while most of the rest of the district is in Shirley Johnson's(Bouchard's replacement) district.

I compared Bouchard 98 to 2000's senate race, and Bush in 2004. Spence Abraham ran ahead of Bush in 2000 in Oakland County as he's an Auburn Hills native.

ASSUMING Bouchard's health is in good shape, the two question are this. Can Bouchard take back Oakland for the GOP? Can Bouchard win Central Oakland County's socially liberal swing votes without alienating the base and also the more socially conservative swing voters in Macomb County and Northern Michigan? Mike Cox was able to pull it off in his Attorney General race.

As for the primary, the big question is how Bouchard affects Butler. Both are from Oakland County, and I suspect much of the Bouchard votes are would-be Butler votes in other cases. The big winner in this might actually be Jerry Zandstra if West Michigan votes as a block, and if the Detroit area splits the vote between Bouchard and Butler.

I don't know where Bouchard stands on the issues. That is something I'll look forward to seeing. This should be an interesting primary.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

With Miers no longer in the running for SCOTUS, I'm adding a new poll.

The results for Miers were

17% - Support and trust President Bush

9% - Support as she's the best that can get past the senate

2% - Against, Right Wing Extremist

26% - Against, unqualified

19% - Against, not conservative enough

28% - Undecided. (Where I stood)

While some democrats read and post here, this is a GOP based board, and the lack of support here shows that the activist wing of the party was unimpressed to say the least. Even though it's an unscientific poll, a 47%-26% against vote says that there was much uncertainty at best in this choice. About 6-7% of the votes in the Presidential 2008 poll were democrat, and I expected a similar number here.

I added a new poll on the US Senate Race. Rumors have Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard jumping back in. Another rumor has Congressman Pete Hoekstra running. I added both of those in as well to make the poll more interesting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush abandoned his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court and promised a quick replacement Thursday. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party."

The White House said Miers had withdrawn because of senators' demands to see internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But politics played a larger role: Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity, and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the embattled GOP president.

1. I thought they should have waiting until the hearings. What bothers me is that Miers did not have a chance to defend herself. She wasn't my first choice, and I certainly had doubts after that Washington Post reprint of one of her speeches, but I was going to wait and give her the same courtesy I gave John Roberts. The risk with an unknown is that it would be either David Souter, or it could be the next Alex Kozinski.

2. The democrats played this smart by keeping their traps shut outside of talking about questions. This makes the withdraw infighting and not partisan politics.

3. The right caused Bush to blink. Now Bush has two options here. He can say screw the right and pick Al Gonzales or another liberal, or he can pick someone like Alex Kozinski and damn the torpedos. I have no idea who it'll be. I hope it's not Al Gonzales. I'll push for the borking of that gun grabber myself.

There are many qualified picks which President Buch can choose. Judge Alex Kozinski would be my first choice. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan would be another good pick for the country, although it would give Granholm the pick of a Supreme Court judge here in Michigan.

Tom Daschle lost his South Dakota Senate seat last year. Will the former top Senate Democrat seek the White House in 2008? (File photo)Daschle would not commit to a national race in an interview Friday at his new office at Alston & Bird in Washington, D.C. But he gave every indication that he has been thinking long and hard about a run for the White House.

Being out of the Senate, Daschle said, has given him a broader perspective on issues. "It is not uncommon for a candidate running for president to cite a bill by its cosponsored name," he said, perhaps in a subtle shot at Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (D), who was accused by his detractors of constantly speaking in Senate-ese during the 2004 campaign. "That doesn't mean a thing to someone in Aberdeen, South Dakota," Daschle added

This could make things interesting in 08. I don't expect Daschle to be a threat for the nomination (compared to Hillary Clinton, Mark Warner, or Bill Richardson), but anything can happen.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

I added Lapeer, Leelanau, Lenawee, and Livingston County to the county profiles.

There are rumors the Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard will be back in the senate race after dropping out earlier due to health concerns. He was the original choice of the establishment, so it will be interesting to see what happens in this race if he jumps back in. There's also a rumor that Congressman Pete Hoekstra may jump in as well.

I will comment more on Hoekstra or Bouchard if either of them jump in.

Friday, October 21, 2005

The Second Amendment as well as tort reform gained a huge win yesterday. S397 passes easily in the house banning frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufacturers.

Of the Michigan Representative, all of the Republicans voted for this, as did democrats John Dingell and Bart Stupak. Joe Schwarz and Fred Upton were surprises. I'm a frequent critic of both of them (And Stupak) on 2nd Amendment issues, but they came through for us today, and credit needs to be given where it is due.

President Bush indicated that he will sign this. This is the biggest victory for Michigan gun owners since the passage of conceal carry in 2000. This is the biggest federal victory since at least 1986.

HISTORIC VICTORY FOR NRAU.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES THE “PROTECTION OF LAWFUL COMMERCE IN ARMS ACT”

Thursday, October 20, 2005

(Fairfax, VA) - Today the United States House of Representatives passed the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” (S. 397) by a bipartisan vote of 283-144. The legislation now moves to President Bush’s desk for his expected signature.

Commenting on the passage of this landmark legislation, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said, “This is an historic victory for the NRA. Freedom, truth and justice prevailed, and today S. 397 is one step closer to becoming the law of the land. No other industry is forced to defend themselves when a violent criminal they do not know, have never met and cannot control, misuses a legal non-defective product. American firearms manufacturers will now receive the same fair treatment."

The “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” seeks to end predatory and baseless lawsuits initiated nationwide by the gun control lobby. These lawsuits sought to bankrupt a lawful, highly regulated industry by holding the manufacturers and retailers responsible for the unforeseeable acts of criminals. S. 397 passed the Senate in late July with a bipartisan vote of 65-31.

Joining LaPierre in commenting on this victory, NRA Chief Lobbyist Chris W. Cox added, “Our judicial system has been exploited for politics and Congress put a stop to that. Passage of the 'Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act' would not have been possible without the support of the 257 House co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. We appreciate the tireless efforts of Rep. Cliff Stearns and Rep. Rick Boucher and the Republican members of House leadership who worked to move the bill in this chamber.

"We are a safer country today because Congress passed this critical legislation and acted to save American icons like Remington, Ruger, Winchester and Smith & Wesson from politically motivated lawsuits. Our men and women in uniform abroad and at home now will not have to rely on France, China or Germany to supply their firearms,” Cox added.

During Senate debate earlier this year, the Pentagon stated its concern over the consequences if the American firearms industry was litigated into extinction. The Department of Defense stated that it “strongly supports” S. 397 citing, “that passage of S. 397 would help safeguard our national security by limiting unnecessary lawsuits against an industry that plays a critical role in meeting the procurement needs of our men and women in uniform.”

“I would like to thank our members who played a pivotal role in making this bill a reality. Together, we have saved the American firearms industry and protected the sanctity of the Second Amendment,” concluded LaPierre.

Monday, October 17, 2005

I just saw the most offensive ad in history by a political party committee. It's from the NRSC, which is the National Republican Senate Committee, which is supposed to elect Republican senators. However, they have decided to spend republican campaign money against other republicans instead of electing them to office.

Cranston Mayor and Republican Steve Laffey is challenging RINO Lincoln Chafee in the Rhode Island primary. Chafee has threatened to jump parties and did not even vote for President Bush in 2004. The NRSC has gotten involved in the primary, and are not only supporting Chafee, but they are running TV attack ads against Laffey. They are even bragging about this on their website.

We have tough senate races across the country. Santorum has a tough defense, and there are possibilities to win in New Jersey, Florida, Nebraska, Washington, West Virginia and right here in Michigan. These are all expensive races, so why is the NRSC spending Republican money to attack another Republican running against someone who did not even vote for President Bush? Someone explain that to me.

It's time for Liddy Dole and her NRSC campaign managers to step aside, and let someone competent take over. With friends like the NRSC, who needs enemies. If you don't like the idea of Republicans like Steve Laffey being attacked by a supposed Republican Organization, let them know.

MIDLAND, Mich.--Among the people recently mentioned as potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees, Maura Corrigan and Robert Young were relatively unknown. But both are noteworthy representatives of what may be the finest court in the nation.

For the past six years, the Michigan Supreme Court has been a leader in attempting to restore a proper balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the people. The bloc that constitutes the court's frequent majority--Justices Clifford Taylor, Stephen Markman, Corrigan, Young and, often, Elizabeth Weaver--has consistently refused to substitute its policy preferences for those of the legislature. Importantly, the court's other justices, Michael Cavanagh and Marilyn Kelly, have joined the majority in key cases. But the court's "judicial restraint" has not implied passivity. All of the justices have been willing to rule out-of-bounds legislation that encroaches on individual rights protected by the state constitution.

One major SCOTUS decision that brought scorn from both the left and the right was the Kelo case involving eminent domain. Years ago, Michigan had it's own case on this. The City of Detroit demolished a Polish neighborhood to put in a General Motors plant (now closed down). This was allowed by the court back then. Recently, The Michigan Supreme Court overruled Poletown.

Kelo has touched off a political and legal storm. Strikingly, the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously held a year ago, in Wayne County v. Hathcock, that courts were constitutionally required to determine independently whether a taking involved a public use. The court further ruled that equating economic development with a "public use" would "render impotent our constitutional limitations on the government's power of eminent domain." Justice Young explained that, "after all, if one's ownership of private property is forever subject to the government's determination that another private party would put one's land to better use, then the ownership of real property is perpetually threatened by the expansion plans of any large discount retailer, 'megastore,' or the like."

Markman, Taylor, Young, and Corrigan are model justices that should be the model of which judges should follow.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Geoffrey Fieger sued Attorney General Mike Cox the same day he announced his plan to challenge the incumbent in 2006.

Fieger, a trial lawyer who won the 1998 Democratic nomination for governor, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Cox, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and state Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman, accusing them of conspiring to retaliate against him and deprive him of his free speech rights.

What's the big deal? This....

Since March, Cox's office has been investigating a $450,000 television ad campaign that urged viewers to "vote no" against Markman in last year's Supreme Court race. Markman easily won re-election. But it was not until June — seven months after the election — that Fieger, a multimillionaire, filed papers in Oakland County acknowledging he paid for the anti-Markman ads.

That's BIGTIME illegal.

The type of independent expenditure report Fieger made is supposed to be filed months earlier than when he submitted the paperwork, county clerks say.

That's an understatement. I treasured several campaigns. In candidate committees, as well as ballot committees, we have 3 filing dates, an Annual in January, a pre-election report, and post election report. Going from memory, I believe the pre-election is due 10 days before the election(primary or general), and the post election is due 10 days after the primary or general.

Now I'm sure Fieger avoided this because his name is poison with the general public, and didn't want people to know that he spend $450K(which may be illegal as well, I'm not sure what the judicial donation limit is).

In short, this lawsuit is a giant pile of crap. I wouldn't expect anything less from Mr. Fieger. Cox should turn around and bust his sorry ass for this frivolous lawsuit.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Geoffrey Fieger, the lawyer who gained fame defending Jack Kevorkian and later won the 1998 Democratic nomination for governor, said Tuesday he plans a run next year for state attorney general.

Fieger, known for his flamboyant courtroom style and outspokenness, notably in his former role as Kevorkian's attorney, unexpectedly won the 1998 Democratic gubernatorial primary largely based on his popularity in Detroit. But Gov. John Engler easily beat Fieger, 62 percent to 38 percent, on the Republican's stroll to a third term.

The good news is that anyone could defeat Fieger. In 1998, he lost every single county in the state except Wayne County. This guy even lost the city of Ann Arbor, mostly due to being a braying jackass and anti-religious bigot. He called Orthodox Rabbis "closer to the Nazis than they realize", Cardinal Adam Maida a "nut", and Jesus Christ a "goofball that got nailed to the cross".

This is potential disaster for the democrats. I don't expect him to be their nominee because it's a convention system instead of a primary for the AG race. That said, anything can happen.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Here's an interesting site on the GOP and Dem horses for 2008. Political Derby

Their top picks so far.

1. - George Allen - Allen holds steady at #1, despite falling from the spotlight in recent weeks. The Jockey hears some are encouraging Allen to bid farewell to the Senate in 2006 and launch a "Listening Tour" that would effectively be the foundation for his 2008 campaign and a prime opportunity to remind people he was once a popular southern governor. Given the success of senators in presidential races, the Jockey thinks Allen ought to be listening.

1 and 2. - Hillary Clinton - The Jockey thinks if Hillary isn't careful she'll have to change her voter registration to "Republican". The insanely ambitious NY Senator continues to move right while taking timely jabs at the President in order to please her peeps to the left. Her recent move to break up the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of Katrina may look transparent to some and certainly smells a bit like opportunism. Nevertheless, until someone takes a shot at the 800-pound gorilla, she will remain the heavy favorite. (Get it? Heavy favorite? The 800-pound gorilla? Come on, stay with us folks.)

They have a top 10 and "others receiving votes" list on their site which shows momentum, and it's worth checking out.

Delphi Corp., the nation’s largest automotive parts supplier and employer of 14,700 in Michigan, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy Saturday after months of negotiations with General Motors Corp. and the UAW failed to produce a deal to stop the financially strapped company from bleeding money.

The bankruptcy, the largest ever in Michigan, will result in the closure, sale or consolidation of a "substantial segment" of Delphi's U.S. plants, threatening the livelihood of thousands of workers, while dealing another blow the to state's economy already struggling with a high unemployment rate.

And unfortunately, it's not just Delphi itself and GM which are hurt by this.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller suppliers do business with Delphi’s U.S. plants, and they could see much of their work reduced or eliminated.

This will affect Michigan's entire economy. We need some business reforms here fast.

Michigan City, IN - After a Michigan City middle school student found a bullet on-board his bus, he thought he might get a thank you. Instead, Henry Hernandez’s family says he was nearly kicked out of school.Unexpected discovery Tuesday morning while riding to school, 14-year-old Hernandez found a bullet on the floor of his bus.

He thought he did the right thing by turning it in.

I thought he did to. Apparently not:

Hernandez’s parents say that Michigan City schools originally wanted to expel their son, but instead settled on a three-day suspension. A court hearing Thursday added another five days in an after-school detention program. But, his parents say he shouldn't be punished at all.

Hernandez explains, "I tried to do something right but then it came out as a suspension."

Unfortunatly, Mr. Hernandez has learned a harsh lesson. Do not trust school authorities. I can't believe how much things have changed in the time I left high school, which is less than 10 years ago. I also believe I was real lucky that I had some good admins for the most part when I was in school. I could have had a real joker like the Michigan City admins.

Thank God I was out of school before Columbine. I think that changed everything.

I'm not surprised on most of the results. Condoleeza Rice and Tom Tancredo both have very strong followings. Tancredo was 2nd at the Mackinac straw poll ($1 a vote). George Allen is one of the frontrunners and is possibly the establishment choice. Newt Gingrich is still well known from his days as House Speaker. I expected Rudy to win actually, since while he's liberal on many issues, has strong leadership qualities that are acceptable to many conservatives. Mark Sanford is my first choice, and has some pockets of support among the club for growth crowd. McCain isn't very popular with most republicans I know personally, so I'm not surprised at his showing here, although I am surprised at Mitt Romney. I figured his numbers here would improve after his Mackinac Speech. Tim Pawlenty has a good record as Minnesota governor, but does not have high name recogition. Sam Brownback also suffers from lack of name recognition, although I figured he would have more votes here. I can't see Frist getting past the Iowa straw poll. Mike Huckabee has some followers in the South, but I'm not sure his economic liberalism will go over well in 2008. George Pataki has about as much chance of becoming president as I do.

On the democrats side, Hillary had most of the votes which isn't surprising, although I expected Mark Warner and Bill Richardson to do better. Wes Clark is a favorite of the Daily Kos crowd. Evan Bayh is disliked by the democrat base for his wishy washiness on abortion. I can't believe John Kerry is still running for president. I can't see democrats forgiving him for being unable to defeat President Bush in 2008 - especially since he won the primary over the favorite Howard Dean for being "electable".

My early prediction in 2008 is a George Allen vs Mark Warner Virginia matchup.

Democrats now have a permanent home in Livingston County, as the party — for years a virtual nonfactor in local politics — prepares to move into its new, year-round office.Currently home only to a few computers, chairs, tables and a smattering of political lawn signs, Democratic officials hope the office on Grand River Avenue in Brighton Township will be the place where the party's rebirth happens.

"When you're developing a base and reaching out to people, if you have a place that people can come in and volunteer, it makes it a lot easier," said Joe Carney, county Democratic chairman. "A lot of work has been done over many years to lay the foundation for this."

I have to tip my hat to Joe Carney for giving us a fight. It makes both of our parties better in the long run. I hope people in my own party are concerned and scared about Joe Carney winning a school boards seat. The democrats in our county want us to be complacent and want us to become lazy. Combine that with the perfect storm of infighting, an anti-incumbent mood, strong funding, and low turnout, and that is how the democrats can win with a strong candidate. Not every candidate is going to be a joke like Frank McAlpine was in 2002.

This is a major gamble and investment by the democrats. The office is going to drain their coffers, bigtime. I'd have to guess $15,000 a year in rent, plus phone, electricity, gas, internet, and water costs each month. Even with the union money from the IBEW and MRCC, that's still a good chunck of change in administrative costs, which is fine by me. That's money that does not go towards campaigns. $20000 was twice what my representative, Joe Hune, spent in his first race.

(many on) The right wing are mad about President Bush's pick of Harriet Miers.

It's no secret that the main issue unifying three of the major wings of the GOP has been judges. The Religous Conservatives were lukewarm to Bush in 2000, but judges were a main reason they were on board. Gunowners want to see a judge interpret the constitution strictly. Business conservatives do not want activist plaintiff courts.

Therfore, it's not a surprise that President Bush took some heat when he nominated his personal lawyer with little judicial track record. The hard right wanted to see Janice Rogers Brown or another fillibustered judge so there could be a fight, confirmation, and have everything rubbed in the lefts' faces over and over again. Now in the words of a friend of mine, I support "smashing left wing scum" as much as the next person, but there's a time a place for it, and a time and place to keep our power dry. Right now, we need to keep our powder dry.

I have a wait and see attitude on Harriet Miers. I'd prefer an Alex Kozinski nominated, but I'm not going to support, nor oppose this until the hearings. Conservatives need to be patient and wait before casting judgements here. She may be a great judge who follows the constitution as it is written, instead of throwing international law in there like Sandra Day O'Connor does. She may be a David Souter as well who was a stealth liberal. We'll see.

Let's just wait until the hearings and get as much information as we can before either supporting or opposing her.

Monday, October 03, 2005

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, reaching into his loyal inner circle for another pick that could reshape the nation's judiciary for years to come.

"She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice," Bush said as his first Supreme Court pick, Chief Justice John Roberts, took the bench for the first time just a few blocks from the White House. "She will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court of the United States."

If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, Miers, 60, would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the nation's highest court and the third to serve there. Miers, who has never been a judge, was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association

I don't know anything about her. She did say that "she will strictly interpret our Constitution and laws. She will not legislate from the bench." We'll wait and see what happens at the hearing. I'm sure Stabenow will vote against her no matter what.